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American Presidency: Let's get Eric!

Posts

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks.

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

Thanks,
Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way sheâ€™s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palinâ€™s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a â€œfiscal conservativeâ€. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
werenâ€™t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didnâ€™t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's
surplus, borrow for needs.

Sheâ€™s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that werenâ€™t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas werenâ€™t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the â€œold boyâ€™s clubâ€ when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the Stateâ€™s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasillaâ€™s Police Chief because he â€œintimidatedâ€
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didnâ€™t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the â€œold boysâ€™ clubâ€ when she dramatically quit,
exposing this manâ€™s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the â€œbridge to
nowhereâ€ after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as â€œanti-porkâ€.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her â€œSarah Barracudaâ€ because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as â€œAGIAâ€ that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned â€œas a private citizenâ€ against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the Stateâ€™s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interiorâ€™s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, thereâ€™s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
â€¢â€œHockey momâ€: true for a few years
â€¢â€œPTA momâ€: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
â€¢â€œNRA supporterâ€: absolutely true
â€¢social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
â€¢pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
â€¢â€œPro-lifeâ€: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Downâ€™s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
â€¢â€œExperiencedâ€: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
â€¢political maverick: not at all
â€¢gutsy: absolutely!
â€¢open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
â€¢has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
â€¢â€a Greenieâ€: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
â€¢fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
â€¢pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
â€¢pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
â€¢pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasillaâ€™s history.
â€¢pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesnâ€™t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen
when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out
of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: thatâ€™s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are
swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The
day Palinâ€™s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90â€™s.

There is an actual name and email address on the original post. The internets isn't so anonymous anymore!

needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.

There is a lot of good stuff in there, but that is the standout for me...

Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.

Obama has every right to think it's off limits. I however don't. I also find it hal-a-r-ious how everyone is saying "But she's just actin like a teen-ager! Her mom cant controool her!", Jesus christ i havent heard people giving parents such a pass since columbine. At which point are her parents capable? Does she need to run over an elderly couple? Skull fuck a homeless person? Mutilate a dead animal? hunt cats with BB guns then drown them in barels of water to sell to a butcher for chinese food? Where's the line here people?
[/rant]

She's a 17 year old who had sex. This does not strike me as a stunning indictment of Sarah Palin's parenting skills.

Yeah. I mean, I never had sex or drank underage, but that is because I was a huge nerd for whom the opportunity never arose. It's not the worst thing ever, and a huge step below all your examples. Lighten the fuck up.

We live in a dangerous world. And we need a President who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.

Surprisingly, not from Rudy's keynote, but that's the President speaking tonight.

Maybe I'm forgetting something but I think Teddy Roosevelt would hate Palin and McCain. Ruining miles and miles of the Alaskan wilderness for a pipeline? Drilling off the coast in an area frequently hit by hurricanes? Do they remember that this guy loved the wilderness?

I don't know who Teddy would be voting for...but it wouldn't be McCain.

"The government is us; we are the government, you and I."

"The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency."

"A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues."

"Believe you can and you're halfway there."

I mean, he hated big corporations, immorality, lying, side-stepping the real issues, not caring about all your fellow Americans...basically, what the Republican party is these days.

The super long comment on that article had the persons' real name and email account. Don't really know how that makes it possible to verify their identity, but seriously, that is one of the most coherent comments I have ever read. So by that measure it seems completely reasonable that it could be fake, but some of that information seems too detailed for some D&D player in their mom's basement eating cheetos to whip up over the Labor Day weekend.

And for those who missed Wolf Blitzer announcing that McCain pulled out of the Larry King interview, they RE-AIRED the Campbell smack-down, THEN Wolf said that McCain was dropping out of the Larry King interview because that interview was "Over the line" in they're opinion. Then he just stared straight into the camera and said "Obviously, we don't think Campbell went over the line at all."

It was awesome.

I've been kinda thinking for a couple weeks now that McCain is going IMPLODE or EXPLODE at the debates, because the guy can't take people asking him questions he actually has to answer. And this just solidifies it. The public may finally start to understand this guy is the type of guy who would tell North Korea to fuck off if they didn't ask him the right questions. Thats scary.

Maybe I'm forgetting something but I think Teddy Roosevelt would hate Palin and McCain. Ruining miles and miles of the Alaskan wilderness for a pipeline? Drilling off the coast in an area frequently hit by hurricanes? Do they remember that this guy loved the wilderness?

I don't know who Teddy would be voting for...but it wouldn't be McCain.

"The government is us; we are the government, you and I."

"The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency."

"A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues."

"Believe you can and you're halfway there."

I mean, he hated big corporations, immorality, lying, side-stepping the real issues, not caring about all your fellow Americans...basically, what the Republican party is these days.

I'm driving this into the ground. You'll hear plenty of this on the news, trust me, so i'll just say one last thing then STFU:
It's not the fact that a 17 year old was fuckin', it's got everything to do with that fact that she got pregenant and her mother is a staunch supporter of abstinence only.

We live in a dangerous world. And we need a President who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.

Surprisingly, not from Rudy's keynote, but that's the President speaking tonight.

I laugh, only because Clinton told Bush during the handover to take out Bin Laden and was ignored.

We live in a dangerous world. And we need a President who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.

Surprisingly, not from Rudy's keynote, but that's the President speaking tonight.

We live in a dangerous world. And we need a President who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.

Surprisingly, not from Rudy's keynote, but that's the President speaking tonight.

Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.

Obama has every right to think it's off limits. I however don't. I also find it hal-a-r-ious how everyone is saying "But she's just actin like a teen-ager! Her mom cant controool her!", Jesus christ i havent heard people giving parents such a pass since columbine. At which point are her parents capable? Does she need to run over an elderly couple? Skull fuck a homeless person? Mutilate a dead animal? hunt cats with BB guns then drown them in barels of water to sell to a butcher for chinese food? Where's the line here people?
[/rant]

Which speaks volumes to her capability as a mother but has fuck-all to do with her performance as a politician.

Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.

Obama has every right to think it's off limits. I however don't. I also find it hal-a-r-ious how everyone is saying "But she's just actin like a teen-ager! Her mom cant controool her!", Jesus christ i havent heard people giving parents such a pass since columbine. At which point are her parents capable? Does she need to run over an elderly couple? Skull fuck a homeless person? Mutilate a dead animal? hunt cats with BB guns then drown them in barels of water to sell to a butcher for chinese food? Where's the line here people?
[/rant]

Which speaks volumes to her capability as a mother but has fuck-all to do with her performance as a politician.

True but bereft any real performance in that arena what else are people going to talk about?

Derrick on September 2008

Steam and CFN: Enexemander

0

GoslingLooking Up Soccer In Mongolia Right Now, ProbablyWatertown, WIRegistered Userregular

Back from a phonebanking session in Madison. Two calls in particular stood out:

1: "Hi, I'm with the Obama campaign, and I'd just like to know who you're--"
"OHHHHH MYYYYY GOD!"
(commence stream of bile gushing out of the phone, the kind that makes one recoil from the reciever, ending with a "Good bye" that reminds one of Jon Stewart's "I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!" line)

2: The brother of an actual Obama delegate. (This person was immediately handed off to one of the people running the office, who ended up getting his ear talked off while we both waited for an opportunity to wrap up the call so I could get back to business.)

130 total contacts in the session, by the way.

Gosling on September 2008

I have a new soccer blog The Minnow Tank. Reading it psychically kicks Sepp Blatter in the bean bag.

Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.

Gee, it's a good thing we're not members of McCain or Obama's campaign then, isn't it?

Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.

Gee, it's a good thing we're not members of McCain or Obama's campaign then, isn't it?

What does that have to do with anything? The man is right when he says her performance as a mother has nothing to do with her performance as a professional.

Meanwhile, the Boston Herald and Newsweek have both identified Wasilla Bible Church as the Alaska Governor's most recent church. And it was at that Bible Church where a recent guest described a Palestinian attack on Israeli citizens as part of God's judgment coming to pass on Earth -- an analysis likely troubling both to Jews, as well as to mainstream foreign policy analysts.

Describing a trip by his son to Jerusalem, Jews for Jesus founder David Brickner described the a July Palestinian bulldozer attack against Israeli civilians as part of God's "judgment."

That speech, from August 17, is posted on the church's website, along with all other recent addresses delivered to the congregation.

In a talk entitled "The Jerusalem Dilemma," Brickner also went on to describe all of the problems in the Middle East as related to Jerusalem. "But what we see in Israel, the conflict that is spilled through the Middle East, really which is all about Jerusalem, is an ongoing reflection of the fact that there is judgment," Brickner told Palin's church, adding: "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When Isaac [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

Listen to Brickner here.

Brickner's analysis tracks with various other strains of evangelist Christian eschatology, but finds decidedly less favor in foreign policy circles. With Gov. Palin's views on foreign policy mostly unknown, and the McCain campaign thus far ill disposed to the idea of making her available to the national press, it's unclear how much stock she personally puts in Brickner's theory. An email to the McCain campaign asking for clarification was not immediately returned.

I don't know if she believes that crap, but with what she said about Iraq and some other stuff, it doesn't sound unbelievable that she believes it.

Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.

Gee, it's a good thing we're not members of McCain or Obama's campaign then, isn't it?

What does that have to do with anything? The man is right when he says her performance as a mother has nothing to do with her performance as a professional.

I'll say it again: we're discussing politics in here. Politics extends beyond the facts of what each campaign does, it also encompasses what role the media plays, and the media is eating this shit up. Therefore, in discussing politics, the role of Palin's daughter's vices, and how they shape the media narrative is fair game.

Bionic Monkey on September 2008

0

GoslingLooking Up Soccer In Mongolia Right Now, ProbablyWatertown, WIRegistered Userregular

Meanwhile, the Boston Herald and Newsweek have both identified Wasilla Bible Church as the Alaska Governor's most recent church. And it was at that Bible Church where a recent guest described a Palestinian attack on Israeli citizens as part of God's judgment coming to pass on Earth -- an analysis likely troubling both to Jews, as well as to mainstream foreign policy analysts.

Describing a trip by his son to Jerusalem, Jews for Jesus founder David Brickner described the a July Palestinian bulldozer attack against Israeli civilians as part of God's "judgment."

That speech, from August 17, is posted on the church's website, along with all other recent addresses delivered to the congregation.

In a talk entitled "The Jerusalem Dilemma," Brickner also went on to describe all of the problems in the Middle East as related to Jerusalem. "But what we see in Israel, the conflict that is spilled through the Middle East, really which is all about Jerusalem, is an ongoing reflection of the fact that there is judgment," Brickner told Palin's church, adding: "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When Isaac [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

Listen to Brickner here.

Brickner's analysis tracks with various other strains of evangelist Christian eschatology, but finds decidedly less favor in foreign policy circles. With Gov. Palin's views on foreign policy mostly unknown, and the McCain campaign thus far ill disposed to the idea of making her available to the national press, it's unclear how much stock she personally puts in Brickner's theory. An email to the McCain campaign asking for clarification was not immediately returned.

I don't know if she believes that crap, but with what she said about Iraq and some other stuff, it doesn't sound unbelievable that she believes it.

As much as we have on Palin already, I think we can do well to let this one go regardless. We don't need God Damn America popping up again.

Really. We've hit this point with Palin, within four days. We're at the point where we can openly pick and choose what dirt we don't even need.

Gosling on September 2008

I have a new soccer blog The Minnow Tank. Reading it psychically kicks Sepp Blatter in the bean bag.

But nothing, so far, is disqualifying, and to McCain, the core elements of Palin's appeal -- that she fought corruption, questioned earmarks as governor, disdained lobbyists as governor and took on her party -- are still there.